Phew!
Ilea flopped onto the bed in her pretty little dress, with none of the poise befitting a lady.
After wandering around just now—and coupled with the fragments of memory she still had—she could more or less determine the general state of this world.
The level of civilization here seemed roughly equivalent to medieval Western Europe on Earth.
Yet there was surprisingly little garbage or waste on the streets.
This suggested that the city’s sewer and water systems were fairly well managed.
Were there specialized workers for this?
Or…magical tools?
Right…magic.
Phew.
Ilea sat up and shouted toward the door.
“Someone, come here!”
Tap tap tap…
Very soon, a timid-looking maid with round glasses slowly opened the door.
“Y-yes, milady…w-what are your orders?”
“Mm. Go to the library and…uh, bring me some books on magic,” Ilea instructed.
“Eh? M-magic…?”
The bespectacled maid was taken aback, clearly wanting to ask something.
But given her timid personality and low standing, she didn’t dare.
“Is there a problem?”
Ilea raised an eyebrow, making the maid nearly trip over her own feet in fright.
“N-no! Not at all! I’ll get them right away!”
She looked about ready to cry as she shrank back and dashed off.
Am I really that scary?
But listening to her voice…
Wasn’t this the same maid she’d frightened the night before?
Watching the retreating figure, Ilea arched an eyebrow.
From the maid’s reaction, she gleaned something interesting.
Although she didn’t yet know how people in this world viewed “magic,” the former Ilea—being a spoiled noble lady—had never bothered to learn anything related to it.
It was just like that “stun baton” she used to discipline the dogs; she only needed to wield it, without understanding how it worked.
That was satisfying, sure.
But while she would gladly use any available resources, knowledge…was also something worth absorbing.
To achieve a certain goal, even if it was an ability she could use only once in her lifetime, she would still give her all to learn it.
That had been Wu Chou’an’s way—and now, it had become the style of this young lady as well.
But…what exactly was her goal?
A moment of confusion flashed through her mind, then an image appeared: A gentle woman with the same white hair and blue eyes as her own—her current mother, Lady Shuderian Selaiton Bartyos.
And those vague memories of a father who wasn’t very good with words, along with two elder brothers.
“For…this family?”
The young lady murmured to herself, her crimson eyes staring dreamily at the ceiling.
Knock knock knock!
Just then, the door was abruptly knocked upon.
“Um…e-excuse me, milady! I’m done here—may I come in?”
Outside was the voice of the twin-tailed maid.
Though…she sounded oddly nervous.
“Ah, come in.”
Ilea didn’t sense anything amiss.
She merely stretched out her legs, sat up on the bed, and looked toward the door.
Squeak…
As the door opened, Ilea’s expression stayed neutral at first.
But the instant the maid entered—blushing and tugging along a smaller, more delicate silver dog collar—Ilea’s face froze completely.
Because…
The tattered, beggar-like rags that had once been on the young goddess were gone.
Now she wore something far skimpier, adorned with sparkling ribbons, making her look less like a girl and more like a…gift.
The afternoon sun streamed through the window, landing on the girl’s fair body, which glowed with a soft light.
Ilea found it…almost hard to keep her eyes open.
Moreover—silver chains bound the girl’s wrists and ankles, jingling lightly as she moved.
Even her jaws were restricted by something inside, preventing this “Goddess of Death” from speaking; she could only let out muffled groans.
“Milady, um…so…how is it?”
Yumina, her face flushed, looked up.
Her pink eyes were filled with unease—but even more with…pride.
She was confident in her sense of aesthetics.
And she knew her mistress well.
Milady liked shiny things.
And she didn’t like people resisting her.
So if she presented her like this…surely it would suit her taste, right?
The twin-tailed maid thought smugly.
Little did she know—Ilea’s brain had already completely crashed.
W-what do you mean, “how is it”?!
This…this is just…
“Milady?”
Seeing her mistress open her mouth but fail to speak, Yumina looked bewildered.
Back on Earth, if Ilea had seen a scene like this at night…it would’ve inevitably ended in a rick roll.
But now…there clearly wasn’t the slightest chance of that happening.
Phew…
“Milady?”
Yumina watched as her mistress lowered her head, clutching her nose as she slowly stood up, confusion on her face.
“Yumina…who taught you…to do this?”
Ilea placed a hand gently on her maid’s shoulder.
“Eh? Umm…I-I figured it out myself. Is it…not good, milady?”
Her hesitant question showed that the once confident Yumina was now a bit anxious.
“No, it’s very—very impressive. Absolutely…If you’d lived in that era, you’d definitely be a top tier…Cthulhu cultist.”
This level of presentation would have gotten her shot on sight…
“Huh?”
Yumina was utterly baffled by her mistress’s bizarre words.
But…it seemed like she was being praised?
A Cthulhu…cultist?
Was that some kind of blacksmith profession?
“Uh…it’s not as exaggerated as you make it sound, milady. I just…threw it together, really~”
Of course, though she spoke modestly, Yumina was inwardly delighted by the praise.
“Alright, you can go for now~ I need some time alone to..talk with her.”
Ilea still held her nose, her red eyes calm as ever.
She stared unblinkingly at Yumina.
It was as if the goddess standing over there, face flushed and eyes vacant, was some kind of terrifying monster.
But…talk alone?
Whoosh—!
A deep blush suddenly spread up from Yumina’s neck, instantly covering her entire face.
She seemed to understand her master’s intentions almost immediately.
“Alright! Miss, I…I’ll stand guard outside for you! Umm…please enjoy yourselves!”
“Huh? No…hey—!”
Click!
Before Ireya could explain anything, the maid had already dashed off.
“I…I really just have something to ask her…”
She called out pointlessly toward the doorway, but got no response.
Rubbing her temples, Ireya let out a sigh.
But perhaps this was for the best.
It wasn’t like she truly intended to do anything to this soft, clueless-looking “Goddess of the Undead” standing before her.
It was just that…judging from her own reaction and her instinctive behavior just now, it seemed her preferences hadn’t changed.
That was a relief.
Becoming a white-haired loli was already hard enough to accept.
If she were forced to twist even her orientation…
…
Anyway!
She liked girls!
Or rather, it was best for everyone if her family knew she had always liked girls.